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The Selvian Creed
Within the land of Latteras, the human populous are known for worshipping a multitude of deities, a vast array of gods, a gaggle of spirits, and other potentially false paranormal figures. However, most predominantly - one form of worship presides over all, and that is The Selvian Creed. This religion holds the most sway over the common people and nobility alike, with very few willing to worship other deities. Surrounding the worship of the God, “Selvas, the Life-Bringer,” the religion predominantly focuses on life, death, and harvest festivals in the god’s name. Notably, they do possess books of origin and mythology on the subject of Selvas, commonly referred to as “The Omnibus.” The Origin of the Selvanists The Creed was originally an elven church centered in Pyros, where they practiced and had religious dominance over the plains and the forest. Their priests were called druids, legendary Herbomancers that helped heal the sick, support crop growth, and act as advisory figures to many Pyrosi nobles in the name of Selvas. After the fall of Pyros, the churchs influence diminished greatly, the great druids losing much of their former authority and power over the forest as well as the plains as chaos erupted across the continent. Corrupt nobility and warmongers in both regions killed many of the druids as their presence was seen as a threat to authority and their numbers dropped drastically. Druids who sought to keep the Creeds traditions alive passed it down to worthy Herbomancers, safely securing that Selvanism and the Creed would survive up until the invasion of the region by the Mons, later known as Latteras. The Lattish invasion of the region was seen as an opportunity to regain security and safe practice of their arts. At the time, the Lattish practiced Selvanism in unorganized pagan rituals and an unorthodox priesthood. A series of reformations into a more organized church saw the restoration of druids into a fused elven-human modern day Selvanist creed. In modern times, the role of druid has mostly been passed down to humans, maintaining an advisory role with the responsibility of hosting rituals that date back to the Creeds elven roots. Many clergy roles have gradually replaced the old responsibilities of the druids after the reforms, such as hosting services and managing Sacrosants (places of worship). The church remains strong, led by the Council of Archprelates, a group which creates new decrees (the rules and standards for worshippers and clergy inside the church) and revises old ones. The Creed The Selvian Creed operates solely on a singular set of rules, usually decreed by the council of Archprelates. These set of rules or “creed” is used to base the entire religion’s moral code and methods of conduct. In the modern form, this creed holds true to the following principles: # All followers of the Creed are to put other followers above themselves; in property or kindness. # All followers of the Creed shall stay faithful to their family; until by Ankouan’s claim declares them to be parted. # All followers of the Creed shall stay to their honor, and never allow it to fail themselves or their family. # All followers of the Creed shall honor Selvas on his Days of Bountiful Harvest, and hold prayer for him at every moment they take his blessing. # All followers of the Creed shall gain honor by donation to his Creed; one bir per week. # All followers of the Creed shall hold true and defend the blessings and teachings of Selvas. # All followers of the Creed shall respect and honor Selvas’ domain, and pray for those who occupy it. # The Interference of Selvas’ permission to pass one’s soul to Ankouan is forbidden by all means; punishable by death. # The breaking of law, or to bring harm upon another Follower of the Creed, is at the sacrifice of one’s honor # As Man and Dryad are made in the Image of Selvas, he who is human or dryad shall be held in highest regard. # Violence against heretics and others with just cause is a noble and honorable practice. # Heretics who work through service in the church or service to the nations of Selvas without pay will lessen the weight on their soul so they can be reborn again. The Vices and Virtues Virtues Virtue is the most pure path to strengthening the soul, acting with kindness and temperance. Showing patience and restraint, holding a gentle hand to all friends and enemies. These are the things which breathe holy inspiration into the hearts of men, and what all faithful should strive towards. The key aspects of Virtue are as follows; * Honesty: One’s word reflects unto the soul. If one does not blemish their speech with lies and omissions, one’s soul is ever stronger. * Patience: Tempering one’s passions in the face of temptation and tedium reflects well upon the soul. Showing restraint in times of turmoil and understanding your brothers and sisters is key. * Grace: It is of paramount importance to be thankful for every gift received. Selvas is to thank for every day of life, for the beauty of the land, for the music of songs and many other things. Thank him for these gifts, and be thankful of all else, even if it is disguised in tragedy. * Justice: The Land Selvas has bestowed upon us, unblemished and unfaulted, is often set upon by evil. Men who care not for the balance of life and death, men who are unrepentant and act with arrogance. Correct these men with a gentle heart and firm hand. Vices Acts and behaviors which weaken the intregrity of the soul and weigh it down with Burden. All men cannot be epected to avoid Vice, but must overcome it if they wish to lift up their soul and live beyond the Day of Reckoning. The most prominent vices are as follows; * Deceit: Liars and cheats are considered to be the worst offenders of all those who commit to Vice. Even if the cause is just or it is simply an omission of the truth, all Deceit weighs down the soul with Burden. * Gluttony: It is not a great sin to enjoy the great gifts that Selvas has bestowed upon us. However, overindulgence in such things bears a great weight on the soul. Those who are greedy are not looked upon kindly by Selvas, charity oft demanded of the rich to stave such a Vice away. * Violence: Violence, no matter the sort, brings Burden down upon the soul. However, bloodshed for the sake of justice is looked upon with great respect, and seen as taking on the Burden of others; a self sacrifice. * Theft: All creatures should be able to enjoy the gifts of Selvas, but that does not give men the right to take from others in order to satiate their own desires. Stealing anything, even if it serves a noble goal, weighs heavily on the soul. The Profane Among all evils that set about the faithful, few are as feared or as hated as the Abomination or the Profane. It is the foul forces that would seek to corrupt the gifts of Selvas, the perfect land bestowed upon mortals, that are seen as the most vile. A common inference of the Profane is the Necromancer and his undead creations, ones who toy with death and seek to overcome it. Those foul warlocks meddle with the powers of Ankouan, and only a quick death will free them of their Vice. Like the Necromancers, Psychomancers are also meddlers and defilers. They toy with the domain of the other God Menthava, and step passed bounds they have no right to breach. They are the worst sort of thieves and liars, and are heavily shunned by the faith. Selvian Mythology During the reformation of the Creed, a collection of myths and legends along with the moral values of the religion were culminated in a single volume known as “The Omnibus.” Each place of worship for the Creed is noted for holding an Omnibus. Most modern religious rituals are contained within it, however more ancient and holier ones are found in Pyrian texts, rather than modern ones, sealed to the higher ups of the Creed. The Gift of the Life-Giver “Upon the creation of Azura, The Council of Seven placed their foot out to these virgins lands with one goal in mind - dominance, sparing one. He who brings life, Selvas. Where Parthan, her Majesty of the Sea attempted to consume the planet in her vast oceans, and where Stratalus ripped continents and isles from the oceans, and mountains from those, and where Temaur cascaded hurricanes large enough to span horizon to horizon, one of the Seven stood idle, and in patience. Selvas bided his time, so that He could create - rather than manipulate as his Brothers and Sisters did. As the Seven cooled and ceased their fighting, their domains on Azura had finally come to balance. Within their territories, Selvas began the beautiful construction of his own domain. To the vast lands, he planted mighty oaks to touch the skies. To the glistening oceans, he created schools of succulent fish and luscious forests of kelp. To the white clouds above, he blessed Temaur with thousands of birds to accompany him. Yet, before he receded back to the Heavens, he left his final gift of life upon Azura. The Humans, The Orcoids, and The Beastkin. From the Humans, came the Elves, Man, Dwarf, and Drow. From the Orcoids, came Orcs and Goblins. From the Beastkin, came the Tachtan, the Minotaur, the Lizardkin.” ~ The Omnibus, “The Dawn.” The Mistress of Death “By the creation of life, the Life-Bringer unknowingly awoken from her slumber the Mistress of Death, Ankouan. The Mistress was a cruel and unrelenting one, and began to cascade down upon His Creations death and destruction. Pestilence and disease scourged the new Life He had gifted, without their own help. Souls of those Selvas had created were claimed by Her agents of death, and all hope for his Creation was felt lost. Yet in his wisdom, he searched to strike a deal, a compromise with the Mistress of Death. Meeting in Her Fields, Selvas came to an agreement. For all life shall be chaos in nature, besides what the will of man may muster into peace, and without the influence of Ankouan - he shall exchange all souls that fail to meet his standards into her domain at it’s natural pace. To help sweeten the deal, Selvas agreed that for Six months, he shall slumber and allow Ankouan her full reign. In Ankouan’s full reign, the snow of the mountains tumbles upon the virgin and warm land, and the trees shed themselves of their leaves. In his wisdom, a peaceful death and rebirth is a possibility for all those who worship his Creed. With this deal, it shall be honored, even by mortal men.” ~The Omnibus, “Sacrifice.” The Weighted Soul “In the creation of the Soul, the Life-Bringer referred to the Virtue of Justice. For the soul of a man shall be weighted in its judgement for the excess of virtue, to have themselves passed on from their body to another, to be reincarnated into wealth and happiness. For those who participate in actions of Vice, they shall be cast to the Wraiths of Ankouan to be ripped apart for an eternity without the holy intervention of the Life-Bringer. To be a man to live by vices is to be nothing more than the dust that the Life-Bringer pulled man from.” ~The Omnibus, “His Holy Judgement.” Fairies, Dryads, Ents “Selvas found that during his times of peace within the vast Azuran forests, he was quite lonely. In his experiment with life however, he did not wish to accompany the humans, nor the orcoids, nor the beastkin. So, in his wisdom, he created his Children. The Fairies were his first creation. Saplings, gifted the mind and wing, the fairies are his messengers and his agents of love. The fairy is a holy creature, and should be respected, and their messages kept close to heart, as they are the word of Selvas himself. The Ents were his second creation. To protect his places of peace and virtue, Selvas constructed the ents from the trees around him to return to the earth any man or intruder upon his holy lands. Due to this, ents are to be worshipped and respected at all encounters, and to only be quickly observed. The dryads were the last of his children to be created. To maintain his places of virtue and peace, to be holy gardeners of his lands. Yet, in the creation of their minds, he left a purposeful flaw. The individual thought and free will was allowed to the dryads, and some of them chose to flee their purpose at a cost. Their memories of Selvas and his places of peace were wiped and their access to them revoked, now destined to roam the world for their own purpose. Even in their rebellion, they are holy creatures, meant to be respected.” ~The Omnibus, “His Children.” The Golden Lyre “When Selvas sat down at the end of creation, and in preparation for his final gift, he prepared his sacred tool, the Golden Lyre. A lyre adorned with the finest of diamonds and sapphires, casted of solid gold as a gift from Stratalus. This fine creation was tuned, and with each strumming, the world’s ears turned to hear his Song. His beautiful song vibrated and reverberated around the world, and as the dust of life picked up around him, at his feet came to be Man and Woman. After this, came the Orc, and She-orc. Finally, Selvas manufactured the Beast and She-Beast. With this, he set off with them across Azura, to plant them in vast, far away lands to start civilization.” ~The Omnibus, “Man.” Rituals First Breath A ceremony used by the Vilicate to induct new members into the faith. The person inducted must be at least 12 years of age to take part in the First Breath ceremony, it seen as the age which souls begin to bear the Burden of their current life. The ceremony involves anointing the inductee with the elements of the Four Sires: water, salt, ash and light. They must then recite the full rites of Selvas. Afterwards they drink from a chalice of white wine and are considered fully inducted into the faith. Joining of Hearts The marriage ritual of Selvanism. It involves the couple first saying to each other their vows in the face of Selvas and then being bound together through blood. Traditionally this would entail cutting open the palms of the couple and then binding them together with linen, being forced to hold their bloodied hands together for the rest of the wedding. Nowadays it is typical to replace the blood with pouring red wine over the couple’s linen bound hands, but the traditional option still stands. Monogamy is something highly valued in Selvanism, as it not only shows willingness to give new life to the world, but the Grace and Patience to care for it with a dedicated partner. Infidelity is considered both Gluttony and Deceit, and is immediate grounds for Divorce. Consensual Divorces are also allowed to happen, the couple being shaved of their hair and forced to live inside a Sacrosanct in solitude for a week before going their separate ways. Last Breath The funeral rites of Selvanism. They can be done before or after death, for the soul does not need to be guided along to the Heavens, though it is in better taste if done before. The dying man or woman is anointed with salt, water and ash, then given their final sip of inspiration in the form of some alcohol, typically wine. It is said that the rites of Last Breath protects the soul from meddling and relieves some of the Burden that it carried with regrets and broken promises. Days of Selvas A holiday which takes place in the week after the summer harvest. the first four days being periods of fasting and prayer which are meant to venerate the Virtues of Selvas. The final three days are grand celebrations of Selvas’ Bounty, that being Song, Love and Feasting. The particulars of the celebration vary depending on the Prelar it is taking place in, but it is usually quite the resplendent affair. Ankouan’s Day A sacred day marked on the winter solstice. It honours the ending of all things as well as their eventual rebirth. During the day, an idol of Selvas is erected in a place of commerce, where people will leave offerings and praise the Lifebringer for his sacrifice. Hymns are sung until the night, when the idol is burned on a large pyre along with the offerings. Worshippers take care to eat early, as no food is to be eaten after the sun goes down. Ease of Burden The chief duty of the Vicars of Selvas, though any believer is technically capable of it. It involves a repentant person to confess past wrongdoings to the receiver, deeds that they can no longer bear the weight of. The Burden of the Vice is shifted to the listener, and it is up to them to act virtuously in order to shed the weight from their soul. It is seen as a selfless act for those who Ease the Burden of others, and should not be taken for granted. Confessors are free to omit any Burden that they feel isn’t necessary for them to pass on, something that they feel are obligated to shed themselves. In this specific instance, it is not seen as Deceit. Acts of Penance A virtuous endeavour when one wishes to atone for sin that they feel great shame over committing. It typically involves travelling the land in poverty and offering help wherever it is needed in the name of simple kindness. Travelling into the wilderness and living in solitude or learning from a Druid Circle are also seen as noble Acts of Penance. Prayer is not seen as something that inherently strengthens one’s soul, only through Virtue and noble deeds can it ascend. Inspiration Alcohol plays a large role in Selvanism, having its place in most rituals. The faith views drunkenness and spirits as something that reflects the state of one’s soul unto the world, and that there is little shame in partaking. It is a good sign if one is a merry drunk compared to being a miserable or angry drunk. However, it must be remembered that over-indulgence is considered Gluttony; the faith does not abide constant drinking.